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PA’s Susquehanna nuclear plant resumes operations

Unit 2 of the Susquehanna nuclear power plant, located in Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County and operated by PPL Corporation, resumed operations on Monday following a scheduled outage for maintenance and the replacement of 40 percent of the unit’s uranium fuel.

The outage followed the plant’s two-year schedule for maintenance and refueling, and also included upgrades to the system. The work necessitated an additional 1,000 temporary workers to support the plant’s employees.

"We made significant investments to further improve the safety and long-term reliability of Unit 2," PPL Susquehanna’s Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer Timothy S. Rausch said. "This included installation of more than 200 new turbine blades, and replacement of a 24-ton pump and motor that circulates water through the plant's reactor."

The turbine modifications, which were also applied to Unit 1 last year, were completed to solve blade cracking issues the plant has had in the past. The maintenance also included testing and implementing portable backup equipment that addresses issues highlighted by the 2011 incident at Japan’s Fukushima plant.

"Along with the facility and components, we have completed training with our team of dedicated nuclear professionals to ensure the safety of our facility," Rausch said.